Diction refers to an author's word choice. The APA manual stresses the importance of proper word choice because your academic writing should be as precise as possible. Follow the word choice guidelines in these handouts to make sure you are communicating in a clear, precise manner.

In addition to proper word choice, APA stresses standards for using abbreviations in the text of a paper. Follow the rules and exceptions in the handout below if you plan to use abbreviations in your writing.